Gamers, Opportunists Line Up Early For PS3 Debut

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CARY, N.C. — The PlayStation 3 gaming console doesn't go on sale until Friday, but people are already lining up to buy it.

Outside one Cary store, the line started forming just before noon Wednesday. Gamers and people trying to make a buck are going to great lengths to get their hands on the latest electronic craze.

"You can make a lot of money if you had a few of them," said Dillon Selinger, who was one of the people waiting outside the Target store Wednesday afternoon for one of the eight units expected to go on sale Friday.

Thomas Rosatti and his buddies were first in line at the store. But shortly after they pitched their tent, they got company.

"A truck rolls up, one of those U-Haul type trucks, and seriously, 50 people rolled out, and he says they got them from the homeless shelter," Rosatti said.

While WRAL was there, the truck used to transport the men from the homeless shelter returned with food for the men. Abdul Salem said he and a friend came up with the idea. They said they plan to pay the men $100 a day to stand in line for a ticket to purchase a PS3 unit that costs around $600.

"It's got to be the eBay incentive," Salem said.

The eBay incentive is all about money. The going price on the site for a PS3 unit is approaching $2,000. Salem called his arrangement with the men from Raleigh's homeless community a win/win proposition.

"We thought we could lend them a hand, throw them a few bucks, and at the same time make a little something off of it," he said.

The Target store manager declined to comment on camera, but he did say the store doesn't plan to make any judgments about people standing in line. The tickets will be handed out on a first-come, first-serve basis at 8 a.m. Friday.